13 run eighth is huge...

Gary Sheffield said he knew things were improving for the Yankees last night when they cut the Tampa Bay lead to five runs in the third inning. "I saw the guys on the bench running to the bat rack," Sheffield said with a smile that he could not fight back. "That was a good sign."

And that was early. That was when there was still daylight in the solstice sky and the ace of the Yankees' staff, Randy Johnson, was headed to the clubhouse after his shortest and worst outing of the season, a bombardment that seemed but a mere footnote three giddy hours later.

That was before Sheffield hit a pair of three-run homers among his four hits and seven runs batted in. That was before four other Yankees hit home runs, too, and before Bernie Williams put them ahead for good with a three-run triple in a 13-run eighth-inning.

After that display of summer fireworks, with a big June moon rising over them, these Bronx Bombers pranced off their Yankee Stadium field last night with a 20-11 victory that left even some of the veterans and their experienced manager agog, along with 40,241 roaring fans.

"If there is a turning point in the season, this should be it," Williams said. It was the Yankees' seventh victory in their last eight games, and the most unlikely.